ReadWrite - filmhttp://readwrite.com/tag/film
enCopyright 2015 Wearable World Inc.http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:03:35 -0700"Internet's Own Boy": The Life & Legacy of Aaron Swartz<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01a87e1ee041860f" tml-image-caption="" tml-render-size="small" tml-render-position="right"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTE4MDAzNDE2OTQwOTcxNTM0.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p><em><strong>&nbsp;Editor's note:</strong> This post was originally published by our partners at <a href="http://www.biography.com/news/aaron-swartz-internets-own-boy-interview">bio</a>.</em></p><p>Aaron Swartz started computer programming at a very young age. First it was a Star Wars trivia game he made with his brother, but soon it was more than just kid stuff. At 12 years old, he created the Info Network, a website where people could share information – think Wikipedia before there was Wikipedia. By 13, Swartz was part of a committee that drafted the RSS web feed format, he was one of the early authors of Creative Commons and was a co-founder of Reddit. But he was a computer whiz kid whose goals were loftier than conquering Silicon Valley - he wanted to make the world a better place.</p><div tml-image="ci01af657b0f0c860d" tml-image-caption="Aaron Swartz Photo Fourteen-year-old Aaron Swartz with Internet pioneers Ted Nelson and Doug Engelbart. (Photo: E E Kim)"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTE5NTU2MzIyNjA2Mjg2MzQ3.jpg" /><figcaption>Aaron Swartz Photo Fourteen-year-old Aaron Swartz with Internet pioneers Ted Nelson and Doug Engelbart. (Photo: E E Kim)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Swartz turned his computer genius to political organizing and he became a champion of information sharing and online freedoms. But his activism didn't come without a cost: he faced 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines for downloading scholarly articles from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, leading to a two-year legal battle with the federal government that ended when Swartz took his own life on January 11, 2013.</p><p>Soon after Swartz's death, director Brian Knappenberger, whose previous film was <a href="http://wearelegionthedocumentary.com/">We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists</a>, began filming a documentary about his life. Although Knappenberger didn’t know Swartz personally, he was “inspired, infuriated and frustrated” by his suicide, and saw his life not only as a compelling film, but a call to action to continue the work Swartz had started.</p><p>Bio talked to Knappenberger as he prepared for today's nationwide release of <a href="http://www.takepart.com/internets-own-boy">The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz</a>.</p><p><strong>Do you think Aaron was largely a victim of circumstance? Or would the crack down on "computer crime" have inevitably snared him at some point, given his determination to push the envelope on matters of open access?</strong></p><p>I think you can’t separate Aaron’s story from the climate or the landscape in which it happened. Within a couple of weeks of Aaron’s arrest, WikiLeaks had released the diplomatic cables and the Afghan War logs and the PayPal 14 had conducted denial of service attacks against MasterCard, Visa and PayPal when those companies cut off financial services to WikiLeaks. It was also the beginning of the Arab Spring, and that year saw unprecedented hacker and hacktivist activity that ended with the Occupy movement. Time magazine’s Person of the Year was “The Protestor.” The year after that was the year of the crackdown and I do think Aaron got caught up in that. There was a kind of storm that happened with prosecutors being overzealous and a broken criminal justice system. He walked into that system where once that machinery got moving, it could never turn back.</p><p><strong>In the film, Aaron’s lawyer is confident he would have won the criminal case. Do you think he's right?</strong></p><p>I think he genuinely had reasons to believe that they were going to win, and that a lot of the main evidence that they were going to use against Aaron was going to be thrown out. Obviously this was very tough for Aaron because there was never going to be another plea deal. He had turned down all of the pleas, the trial was looming and the pressure was on. Aaron ended up committing suicide within a few days of the two-year anniversary of his first arrest, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.</p><p><strong>He was only 26 when he died, but he accomplished so much in his brief life. What do you feel were Aaron’s greatest contributions?</strong></p><p>I think a lot of people are inspired by his early years when he was in his mid to late teens and was such a substantive contributor to the early Internet. That legacy will live on. But then he made a turn from a very rich, post-Reddit sale 19-year-old who was in this build-to-flip, money machine start-up culture to being a crusader for social justice. He started using Internet tools to build grassroots political movements that really put his skills toward the public good. And I think ultimately that is what a lot of people will take away from his story. Certainly, there are bigger problems to focus on too, problems with our criminal justice system, problems with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, outdated computer laws.</p><p><strong>Why isn't there more of a push to reform the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the 1986 law the feds used to prosecute him? Who benefits from keeping the law in its current form? Specifically, who in the technology industry benefits?</strong></p><p>There was big movement to change the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act after Aaron died. One effort was called Aaron’s Law and honestly back at that point it looked like it was going to be pretty easy. Anybody who looks at this law can see that it’s nonsense. You don’t have to be technically inclined to know that we live in a different world now than we did in the 80s. The problem is that it is being stalled and a lot of tech companies have put up these hurdles that were unexpected. One of the [companies] that argued in those committees against changing the law were the representatives from Oracle. They liked that the law is kind of broad and vague and can be used for almost anything. You’d expect a little more support from the tech community, but in fact it’s quite the opposite.</p><p><strong>You're releasing your film under a Creative Commons license. What kind of free distribution, copying, and remixing will that allow? How will that affect your ability to recoup the investment in your film?</strong></p><p>The way were going to do this is the movie is going to be in theaters in 25 cities nationwide on June 27th. It’s also going to be on video on demand and there is going to be a <a href="http://vimeo.com/ondemand/internetsownboy/94238859">Vimeo version</a> that is Creative Commons that can be shared, but it can’t be shared commercially. We’ll see how it affects our ability to recoup. It was important to do for a lot of reasons, but principally for Aaron. I had a lot of offers at Sundance, but they had to comport to this or else I wasn’t going to take them even though they were, let’s just say, distracting.</p><p><strong>What issue or issues do you think Aaron might be focused on these days, were he alive?</strong></p><p>Well, who knows? You can look at <a href="http://www.demandprogress.org/">Demand Progress</a> [the Internet activist organization Aaron founded] to get a clue about that. But there are two issues where I wish we had his energy. The NSA overreach and these revelations of mass suspicion-less surveillance of American citizens. A lot of people see it as a huge overreach and encroachment on constitutional rights and civil liberties. I have a feeling that Aaron would have been a warrior in that battle. The other area is net neutrality – it is clear he would have been involved with that. It really looks like net neutrality might be going the way of the Atari system.</p><p><strong>What suggestions might you have for people who would like to honor and help further his legacy?</strong></p><p>I think you can get up to speed about Internet issues and why it’s important. The Internet isn’t just a realm of geeks and hackers. It’s the place where we live now, and so we have to import into this world all of the things that we think are important from traditional notions of civil liberties, freedom of speech and protection from being searched by our government without due process. I think people can get informed about that and take their Congress folk to task to learn about these issues before they legislate these issues. But in a broader personal sense think of what you can do for the public good. We all have skills. You don’t have to be a genius hacker. What can you do for public service and how can you make things better?</p>Director Brian Knappenberger discusses his documentary about the pioneering Internet activist who took his own life.http://readwrite.com/2014/07/09/internets-own-boy-life-legacy-aaron-swartz
http://readwrite.com/2014/07/09/internets-own-boy-life-legacy-aaron-swartzHackWed, 09 Jul 2014 06:00:21 -0700Leanne FrenchBefore "Jobs": The Films That Captured The Apple Visionary <!-- tml-version="2" --><blockquote tml-render-position="right" tml-render-size="medium"><p><em>Editor's note: This post was originally published by our partners at <a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Steve-Jobs-Movies-28993401?image_nid=28993401">PopSugar Tech</a>.</em></p><div tml-image="ci01b280a060028266" tml-render-position="right" tml-render-size="medium"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAxNTY1MzgwODgxNjg5.jpg" /></figure></div></blockquote><p>Mix one part college dropout, two parts entrepreneurial spirit, three parts vision . . . and you've got a one-of-a-kind Steve Jobs. The movie starring <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/Ashton-Kutcher">Ashton Kutcher</a> as the Apple visionary, <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/Jobs-Movie-Premiere-Los-Angeles-Video-31135768">Jobs</a>, hits theaters Aug. 16. Apple's iconic founder was a highly influential and — for the relentless work ethic he expected of himself and his employees — controversial figure in the tech industry, which is why his story makes for such compelling film fodder. Before you see the biopic, look at the former, future, and current attempts at capturing the personal and professional life of Jobs on screen.</p><p></p><h2>Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview &nbsp;</h2><p>In 1995, a former Apple employee-turned-tech journalist sat down with Steve to discuss his early career and vision for renewing the company. Seventeen years later, the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008GJVAW4/ref=as_li_ss_til?amp;camp=0&amp;amp;creative=0&amp;amp;linkCode=as4&amp;amp;creativeASIN=B008GJVAW4&amp;amp;adid=0TRQCJP9R8WKBNG6MB56&amp;amp;&amp;tag=wwwshopstylec-20&amp;ascsubtag=757100805&amp;tag=wwwshopstylec-20">entire in-depth interview</a> has been released, featuring over an hour of the then-CEO of NeXT Computer and Pixar.</p><p></p><h2>Pirates of Silicon Valley</h2><p>The made-for-TV film, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006DAB6IG/ref=as_li_ss_til?amp;camp=0&amp;amp;creative=0&amp;amp;linkCode=as4&amp;amp;creativeASIN=B006DAB6IG&amp;amp;adid=0K76S6SFV1QY9R59BF5T&amp;amp;&amp;tag=wwwshopstylec-20&amp;ascsubtag=757101539&amp;tag=wwwshopstylec-20">starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates</a>, is a look at the young founders and the fight to control the personal computer market. It's one of our all-time geeky movie faves and a must watch for those interested in the development of tech's biggest companies.&nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>Jobs</h2><p>The biopic starring <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/Ashton-Kutcher">Ashton Kutcher</a> as the Apple founder and Josh Gad, who plays Steve Wozniak, was set to hit theaters April 19 but was delayed until this week's wide release When <a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Ashton-Kutcher-Steve-Jobs-Video-26979821">this clip surfaced in January</a>, after premiering at Sundance, our readers were split: 42 percent were excited to see Ashton in this role of a lifetime, and 58 percent thought the former <strong>That '70s Show</strong> star is not the right actor to play Jobs.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b282dad0016d19"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzA0MDE0MzE3NzQzMzg1.jpg" /></figure></div><h2>Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad at Macworld</h2><p>We did get to hear about the experience of making the film from Ashton himself at this year's 2013 Macworld Expo. The actor discussed his geek cred and talked about <a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Ashton-Kutcher-Steve-Jobs-Macworld-Expo-2013-27094618">playing one of his heroes</a>.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b282db40046d19"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzA0MDE3MjcwMzQyMjQ2.jpg" /></figure></div><h2>Aaron Sorkin Biopic</h2><p>Back in 2011, we found out that <a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Steve-Jobs-Movie-19545372">Sony Pictures acquired the rights to Jobs's authorized biography</a>, written by Walter Isaacson. Aaron Sorkin, writer of <strong>The Social Network</strong>, was picked to spearhead the film, which will focus on the backstage drama of Apple's famed product launches. Sorkin's version will reportedly feature <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/15/aaron-sorkins-steve-jobs-movie-to-feature-just-3-scenes-in-real-time-backstage-at-product-launches/">three 30-minute scenes presented in real time</a>.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b282dbd0056d19"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzA0MDE5NDE3ODg1OTc3.jpg" /></figure></div><h2>iSteve</h2><p>In <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d2e0f617e3/isteve">iSteve</a>, a parody starring <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/Justin-Long">Justin Long</a>, watch 60 minutes of "the most poorly researched biopic of any person ever" (their words).</p><p><em>Images and video courtesy of <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/?esource=google+US_Brand_Getty_Exact_EN_SL&amp;kw=US+getty+Exact&amp;lid=sIuqEYMZZ|dc&amp;pcrid=23168196762&amp;property=GI&amp;kwd=getty&amp;mt=e">Getty</a>, <a href="http://www.macworldiworld.com/">MacWorld/iWorld</a></em></p><blockquote tml-render-position="right" tml-render-size="medium"><p><strong><em>See Also:&nbsp;<a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/07/26/steve-jobs-jobs-movie-disruption-versus-improvement#feed=/search?keyword=jobs&amp;awesm=~oeIwRMaPrIRZw3">Steve Jobs: The Least Disruptive Entrepreneur Ever</a></em></strong></p></blockquote><p><strong>More stories from PopSugar Tech:</strong><br tml-linebreak="true" /><a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Hyperloop-Elon-Musk-Announcement-31124420">Hyperloop by the Numbers: Decoding Elon Musk's Vision For the Future</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /><a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/TARDIS-Interior-31133447">Tour the TARDIS! See the Blue Box From Both Sides of the Pond</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /><a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Best-Headphones-31142041">Whether It's Bass or Budget, the Best Headphones For Every Listener</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /><a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Meteor-Shower-Pictures-31122931">Stargazing: the Best Shots of the Perseid Meteor Show</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /><a href="http://www.geeksugar.com/Block-Spoilers-31123686">How to Avoid Spoilers During Heisenberg's Return to TV</a></p>Movies about the iconic Steve Jobs from the past, present, and future.http://readwrite.com/2013/08/16/before-jobs-steve-jobs-movies
http://readwrite.com/2013/08/16/before-jobs-steve-jobs-moviesPlayFri, 16 Aug 2013 15:25:00 -0700Nicole NguyenWhere 'We Steal Secrets,' The Wikileaks Film, Falls Short<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b28292b0018266" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNzA0Mjc0NTk1MDk3.png" /></figure></div><p>The high-profile documentary<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1824254/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">We Steal Secrets:The Story of Wikileaks</a></em>&nbsp;expanded into wider release in theaters and video-on-demand on Friday. Which would seem to be fortuitous timing, given this week's revelations that the <a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/06/07/prism-fallout-in-cloud-we-dont-trust">NSA has been rifling through email and personal documents</a>&nbsp;stored by Internet giants like Google and Apple and <a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/06/06/nsa-domestic-surveillance-tracks-millions-of-verizon-calls">collecting months of call-related data from Verizon</a>.</p><p>And yet <em>We Steal Secrets</em>, which sets out to show how&nbsp;the post-9/11 American security state collided with the rise of global connectivity and social media, regrettably fails to probe what it all means. The documentary, directed by the undeniably talented (and Oscar-winning) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316795/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Alex Gibney</a>, doesn't even bother to ask - much less answer - the biggest questions raised by the entire Wikileaks saga, such as:</p><ul><li>When does purportedly protective surveillance overreach, threatening personal privacy and constitutional protections?</li><li>Is the U.S. safer because of Wikileaks? Or more democratic?</li><li>Is it even possible to keep state secrets anymore?</li><li>Where should we draw the line between government transparency and legitimate security?</li></ul><p></p><p>Instead, <em>We Steal Secrets</em> devotes an inordinate amount of time to Assange himself - in particular, to the sexual assault allegations lodged against him in Sweden. (Those formed the basis for an extradition warrant that forced Assange to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he's now lived for more than a year.) Such charges are, of course, serious in their own right. But in the context of this film, they amount to a distraction from the much bigger issues at stake.</p><h2>People, Not Machines</h2><p>The film traces the creation of the Wikileaks site, focusing primarily on Assange's troubled past and conflicted present.&nbsp;It then quickly touches on several of Wikileaks' greatest hits - the so-called&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_July_2007_Baghdad_airstrike">"collateral murder" video from Iraq</a>, the release of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak">State Department diplomatic cables spanning decades</a>, and leaked documents from the financial industry following the 2008 financial collapse.</p><p>The prim, arrogant, self-serving Assange, as the film depicts him, was the right person at the right time to seize upon the opportunities presented by a new world, one in which everything is online and therefore accessible. Wikileaks was a audacious, highly visible attempt to encourage the uncovering and exposure of long-guarded secrets inside the halls of established power, both government and corporate.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2829350018266"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNzA3NzY0MjYxNDc4.png" /></figure></div><p>Unexpectedly, the long-running U.S. war in Iraq provided Assange with just the opportunity he needed - in particular, when a tormented Army private named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning">Bradley Manning</a>&nbsp;enters the story. Portrayed as a mostly tragic, slightly heroic figure, Manning served unhappily in Iraq, tormented by his objections to the war and his own uncertainty about his sexual identity.</p><p>He was assigned the job of "intelligence analyst" and given near-unfettered access to shocking amounts of rather shocking military data.&nbsp;Which he then proceeded to hand over to Wikileaks, at least until he was arrested a few months later after an online "buddy" he'd confided in turned him in. (<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/05/188938313/the-bradley-manning-trial-a-short-ish-guide-to-understanding-the-case">Manning's espionage trial</a>, by the way, also started this week.)</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b28293d0056d19"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNzA5OTEyMDA3Mjcw.png" /></figure></div><p>Manning's story demands to take center stage, but unfortunately, the film fails to deliver.&nbsp;Wikileaks was as much a vehicle for Manning as it was the instigator of his deeds. A young man who seemed to have lived his entire life utterly unsure of his identity sought to define himself through a singular stunning act. For good or ill, he succeeded.</p><p>Sadly, all this is underplayed in <em>We Steal Secrets</em>.</p><p>Missed Opportunity</p><p>Meanwhile, the larger implications of Wikileaks and what it has wrought go largely unexplored. The documentary fails to give us the full story - or even a very good story - on Manning, government secrecy, the explosion of personal digitized data, the tension between security and privacy, or what all of that portends.&nbsp;</p><div tml-image="ci01b2829440036d19"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNzEyMDU5Mjg4ODU3.png" /></figure></div><p><em>We Steal</em><em>Secrets</em>&nbsp;features war, leaks, terrorism, cover-ups, social media, identity crises, intrigue and an upending of traditional power structures. Yet after a well-paced introduction, it somehow barely manages to holds the viewer's interest. Just one more sad, inexplicable failing in a saga replete with sad, inexplicable failings.</p><p><em>Images courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WeStealSecrets">We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks</a></em></p>The film features war, leaks, terrorism and cover-ups. But it's boring, and misses the big picture to boot.http://readwrite.com/2013/06/08/we-steal-secrets-a-review-of-the-new-wikileaks-film
http://readwrite.com/2013/06/08/we-steal-secrets-a-review-of-the-new-wikileaks-filmWebSat, 08 Jun 2013 07:02:00 -0700Brian S HallGeek Film Review: Star Trek Into Darkness Breaks The Prime Directive<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2828290008266" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjM1NTU1MjU0ODg2.jpg" /></figure></div><p>The action-packed <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/"><em>Star Trek Into Darkness</em></a> begins with a mad dash, a swirling, red-fueled explosion - and a lesson: sacrificing your own life, or abandoning your sworn duty, is always right provided the cause is just.&nbsp;An&nbsp;attack upon Starfleet, Captain Kirk's loss of his command - and an Earthly betrayal - are enough to propel the crew of the Starship Enterprise into action.</p><h2>Red Alert: Spoilers ahead</h2><p>Directed by J.J. Abrams, <em>Star Trek Into Darkness</em> incorporates all the action scenes, special effects and humor necessary for a summer blockbuster, while effectively maintaining the focus on the beloved characters: Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. There is enough action to satisfy the Trekkie newbies and just enough homage paid to the original <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060028/?ref_=sr_5">Star Trek</a> television series to make hardcore fans blush. A joyfully clever twist on what is - still -<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/">&nbsp;the best Star Trek movie ever,</a> should satisfy all.&nbsp;</p><p>Abrams allows each character his or her moment moment to shine. He unabashedly tosses Tribbles, Klingons, red suits and Mr. Spock all into the pot even as he constructs a version of the series able to stand on its own.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>The Dark Side Of Trek</h2><p><em>Into Darkness</em> begins on the lush world of Nibiru then ventures to the dark, barren Klingon homeworld of Kronos before jetting across London and San Francisco - and Jupiter. As is appropriate to any<em> Star Trek</em> movie, the center of the action always returning to the bright retro-future beauty of the Enterprise itself. Abrams' journey is pure, escapist fun that is not without its faults. <em>Into Darkness</em> avoids many of the probing questions on the human condition that the original <em>Star Trek</em> series so loved to tackle. &nbsp;The story is surprisingly muddled.&nbsp;If there is a message here, it is lost amongst the frenetic pace and boisterous effects.</p><p>Despite its departure from Trek's original plotlines, we can forgive this new film for not posing the deeper questions. We love these characters and want to follow them on their many adventures. The original vision of Star Trek creator&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0734472/?ref_=sr_1">Gene Roddenberry's</a> technology-drenched, optimistic worldview of the future may simply have won us over. Even if the present cultural zeitgeist does periodically push us onto the darker side, <em>Star Trek's</em> vision of smart people creating amazing technologies that ultimately lead us to the stars and possibly salvation, seems always welcome.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828310016d19"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjM3OTcxMDQyOTE4.png" /></figure></div><p>Among the stunning visual battles and non-stop action, some of the best moments of<em> Star Trek Into Darkness</em> are tender human moments. Those that reveal the budding - and sometimes acrimonious - relationships still being formed aboard the new <em>Enterprise</em>. Kirk and Spock. Spock and Uhura. Scotty and the warp core. Each actor more closely subsumes their role in this latest Star Trek iteration. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0734472/?ref_=sr_1">Chris Pine</a> is Kirk. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0704270/?ref_=sr_1">Zachary Quinto</a> is Spock. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757855/?ref_=sr_1">Zoe Saldana</a> is Uhura. The film places them all in peril, and forces each of them to save the other. The bonds of a lifelong friendship and wholehearted commitment (and a long line of potential sequels) to one another are forged.</p><h2>Stumbling Off The <em>Enterprise</em></h2><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b28283b0028266"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjQwMzg3MDI3NTU4.png" /></figure></div><p>Where the movie fails is when the focus shifts to characters not on the <em>Enterprise</em>. Khan is a bit too superhuman, Klingons are easily bested in a fight, Starfleet is an inexplicable tangle of unstated relationships, and the beautiful people of 23rd century Earth are essentially bystanders to the action. All is forgiven, however, as each successive scene raises the stakes: from Spock inside a volcano to Kirk piloting his shuttlecraft on Kronos, to Sulu righting the <em>Enterprise</em> before it crashes and burns back on Earth.&nbsp;</p><p>Despite the film's scale and speed and fights and explosions,&nbsp;<em>Star Trek Into Darkness</em> ultimately reveals the indelible rise of geek culture. The <em>Enterprise</em> - and all of Starfleet - is overflowing with smart, highly technical, amazingly skilled men and women ready to build, repair and imagine as their life mission. Best of all, unlike in the original series, in today's version the highly intellectual Spock and the brain-enhanced Khan get all the best action scenes.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828420058266"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjQyNTM0NDQwMjE3.png" /></figure></div><p>In the future, smarts and focus are rewarded. Through intellect, bravery and a can-do attitude - all pure geek - &nbsp;all obstacles are overcome. Theirs is a world of magic-like technology, blistering focus and an eager embrace of faraway worlds, beings, and cultures. We are the better for it.&nbsp;Violating the prime directive (through sacrifice and the abandonment of sworn duty) from the start of the film, signals that this new Star Trek crew won't always adhere to the rules and conventions long-time fans have come to expect. That's OK. They have proven themselves worthy of piloting the <em>Enterprise</em>. In the grand pantheon of Star Trek,&nbsp;<em>Into Darkness</em>&nbsp;is among the best of the bunch.</p><p><strong>(See also:&nbsp;<a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/05/10/10-great-sci-fi-films-that-got-the-future-all-wrong">10 Great Sci-Fi Films That Got The Future All Wrong</a>)</strong></p><p><strong>(See also:&nbsp;<a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/05/24/geek-film-review-iron-man-3-reveals-its-a-tech-world-after-all">Geek Film Review: Iron Man 3 Reveals It's A Tech World After All</a>)</strong></p><p><em>Images courtesy of <a href="http://www.startrekmovie.com">Paramount</a>.&nbsp;</em></p>The action-packed http://readwrite.com/2013/05/27/star-trek-into-darkness-breaks-the-prime-directive
http://readwrite.com/2013/05/27/star-trek-into-darkness-breaks-the-prime-directivePlayMon, 27 May 2013 09:14:00 -0700Brian S HallGeek Film Review: Iron Man 3 Reveals It's A Tech World After All<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2828080016d19" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjI2Njk2NzQ4MzEz.jpg" /></figure></div><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300854/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Iron Man 3</em></a> is a great - nearly classic - summer blockbuster, filled with awesome special effects, stellar performances, fewer plot holes than explosions and a heartfelt geek message at its core: technology drives and inspires us, enables us to save the world - and how we control our tech ultimately determines our humanity.</p><p>Iron Man is the role that <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000375/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Robert Downey, Jr</a>. was born to play, though <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001426/?ref_=tt_cl_t7">Ben Kingsley</a> nearly steals the show, deliciously playing the dual roles of evil terrorist and drunken British footie fan.&nbsp;The film's entire lead cast is spot on, in fact, with each character able to stand out amidst the many loud rockets very bright red glare.&nbsp;</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828100016d19"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjI4ODQ0MjMxOTYx.jpg" /></figure></div><p>The story is surprisingly well-constructed, if a bit boilerplate Hollywood:&nbsp;America is under siege - only, this time it's personal.&nbsp;Media-savvy terrorists have turned humans into walking bombs. But not even&nbsp;<a href="http://marvel.com/ironman3">Tony Stark, aka Iron Man</a>, can save us.&nbsp;In this third installment of the series, we require not one but a battalion of Iron Men, some human, some not - it's not always so easy to tell - to vanquish our enemy.&nbsp;</p><p>In the end, superior technology - or at least the tech with the fewest major bugs - wins the day.&nbsp;</p><h2>We Are Our Tech</h2><p><em>Iron Man 3</em> doesn't just revel in all its high tech wonder. High tech is its purpose, its reason for being, and the driver of the plot.&nbsp;&nbsp;Terrorists have developed, with Tony Stark's unwitting help, something called "Extremis," which can re-grow limbs but also turn people into walking bombs. It also creates a battery of super-strong villains able to take on the well-suited Tony Stark, though at the cost of their sanity.&nbsp;</p><p>In&nbsp;Iron Man's world, we are each the tech we put in or around our bodies - so choose wisely.&nbsp;</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828180038266"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjMwNzIzMjgwMTUz.jpg" /></figure></div><p>Tony Stark may be a "genius, billionaire, philanthropist"&nbsp;but he is also most definitely a geek.&nbsp;Stark's sanctuary is his basement, where he relentlessly tinkers - creating voice-activtated Iron Man suits and relying upon what might be Google Glass 2.0 to help construct his visions.&nbsp;</p><p>Stark builds several Iron Man suits, expertly repairs them when needed, hacks into a news truck's satellite feed, heroically soars above the clouds and commands computing power likely still a few years away from today's reality. His newest suit wraps&nbsp;itself around him at will. Think the rumored iWatch, only for the entire body and with military-grade weaponry standard-issue. &nbsp;</p><h2>Hollywood Follows Silicon Valley</h2><p>Silicon Valley is leading the charge to construct the <a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/04/08/readwrite-mission-map-programmable-world">programmable world</a>. With <em>Iron Man 3</em>, Hollywood follows, expertly dramatizing these changes.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828200028266"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjMzNjc2MDc1NjIy.jpg" /></figure></div><p>Tony Stark, himself, is the stuff of Silicon Valley dreams: even smarter than rich, witty, equal parts computer programmer and mechanical engineer. He quit running his own mega-company, Stark Enterprises, to concentrate on the more visionary stuff and, Sergey Brin-like, spend his time building cool new gadgetry. &nbsp;</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b2828270016d19"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNjM1NTU1MTE4MzYx.jpg" /></figure></div><p>Offered without irony, Stark inadvertently places his life in danger - and threatens the future of America - by turning down one hell of a start-up opportunity.&nbsp;</p><p>Spoiler alert: The man Tony turned down, the smart, nerdy, hapless and ultimately evil Aldrich Killian, well-played by Guy Pearce, possesses a product - Extremis - that can “hack into the hard drive of any living organism." &nbsp;If there is any cautionary message in the film, it's that technology that surrounds us is acceptable, but tech we put inside us remains to be feared.</p><p></p><h2>The Whole World's Gonna Be Watching</h2><p>In <em>Iron Man 3</em>, the female characters - yes, there are more than one - are badass, smarts are highly valued, terrorists are as stupid as they are evil, technology absolutely can make us better, children can do much more than we suspect, the good guys always have someone at their back, and you get better as you get older.</p><p>All that plus the gadgets, the rocket attacks and the big finish, makes <em>Iron Man 3</em>&nbsp;the perfect start to the summer blockbuster season. It's fun, loud, action-packed, well-written, well-acted, filled with awesome special effects that almost but do not quite overwhelm the characters.</p><p>You probably want to go see it again.</p><p><em>ReadWrite will provide reviews of other summer blockbusters. Next up: </em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/?ref_=sr_1">Star Trek: Into Darkness.</a></p><p><em>Image of Sergey Brin courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/7050489913/">Flickr</a>. All other images courtesy of <a href="http://marvel.com/ironman3">Marvel</a>.</em></p>Iron Man 3 does right by the Iron Man canon - and provides great summer viewing.http://readwrite.com/2013/05/24/geek-film-review-iron-man-3-reveals-its-a-tech-world-after-all
http://readwrite.com/2013/05/24/geek-film-review-iron-man-3-reveals-its-a-tech-world-after-allPlayFri, 24 May 2013 08:05:00 -0700Brian S Hall10 Great Sci-Fi Films That Got The Future All Wrong<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b28266e0028266" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNTE3MTc1MDg3NzE4.jpg" /></figure></div><p>Science fiction movies should help illuminate our path forward - and lay bare the implications of present-day technologies, good and bad. All too often, however, sci-fi movies get the future all wrong. This includes some of our most cherished favorites.</p><p>Consider all the flicks featuring flying cars, poorly conceived time travel escapades, sex with aliens or heroes that are either willfully ignorant of present-day technology or savant-like in their ability to manipulate it into doing things it most certainly could never do. How then to select the 10 most worthy of this dubious honor?</p><p>Let me defer to popular cyber-punk author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson">William Gibson</a>, who&nbsp;famously stated:&nbsp;"The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed."&nbsp;This may be the single most misguided statement about the future ever made. Over and over again the future takes its sweet time arriving, but when it does come it changes everything in unanticipated ways.</p><p>Therefore, I'm zeroing in on movies that predicted our scary-glorious future would arrive soon fairly soon, but which instead got everything spectacularly confused. As these 10 glorious misses prove, that's easy enough to do.</p><p>On to the show: &nbsp;</p><h2>1. Blade Runner</h2><p>Please forgive me. I love <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Blade Runner</em></a>. But it's comically wrong, pretty much about everything. Replicants? Androids on the cusp of being indistinguishable from humans? Memory implants? Colonies on Mars? A "city of 106 million people." A one-world culture that appears to be dominated by Japan but looks like Hong Kong. Crappy phones? Oh, and what's the deal with all that rain in California? Wrong, wrong, wrong.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>2. Jurassic Park</h2><p>If you can get past the cheesy acting and pap dialogue,<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/?ref_=sr_1"><em> Jurassic Park</em></a> is good Spielbergian fun. But it's so off target. A rich man spends figures out how to recreate extinct species and the best application he can come up with a dinosaur theme park? Let's get this straight: this will <em>never</em> happen, not in any future.</p><p>Yes, I know... there's no Superman, either. Problem is, this film spends an inordinate amount of time trying to justify its science - and gets it wrong.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>3. Brazil&nbsp;</h2><p>Terrorists. Excessive cosmetic surgery. Police state. Too many damn tubes and wires? The brilliant <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Brazil</em></a> got much right - but was wrong on so many core elements. Ours is not a dystopian world where we are all faceless numbers, easily lost by an overarching, all-encompassing bureaucracy. Just the opposite, in fact. Increasingly, the world is an all-out competition for attention amongst billions of people striving to transcend anonymity. Everything about Brazil is backwards-looking. Worse, it completely missed how everything is going digital.</p><p></p><h2></h2><h2>4. Videodrome</h2><p>After watching&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Videodrome</em></a> many times, I'm still not entirely sure what it's about. Here's my best guess: Cable television tells us what to watch, and as we watch we become changed - emotionally and physically. Um, perhaps. But it seems to me that the Internet is putting us <em>more</em> in control of what we watch, not the other way around.</p><p>With all our "second screens" - smartphones and tablets - plus YouTube, the Web and social media, there is never a shortage of personalized content. And most of it won't kill you, at least not right away. Ironically, television has become far less important to us than <em>Videodrome</em> would have ever thought possible.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>5. Soylent Green</h2><p>Spoiler alert: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Soylent Green</em></a> is people!</p><p>The world is so over-populated, resources so scarce, that what choice does poor Soylent Industries have but to make its foodstuff from humans? Except, that's not what happened. So far, the future has brought relative abundance - which has its own set of problems.&nbsp;</p><p></p><p></p><h2>6. 2001: A Space Odyssey</h2><p>If you manage to stay awake through <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/?ref_=sr_1"><em>2001</em></a> - no small feat in 2013 - you come to realize how wrong it is about everything. Alien contact, stately flights to the moon and a super-intelligence that is a... mainframe.</p><p>Sadly, <em>2001</em> spawned far too many copycat films with its silly singular view: Humans are not in charge of their past nor their future. The fact that the women are stewardesses and anyone who can do anything is a white male merely reveals just how clueless this film really was. On the plus side, it still looks and sounds awesome.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>7. Fahrenheit 451</h2><p>There is much good to say about Julie Christie and Francois Truffaut. But you cannot say this movie understood the future. In <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060390/?ref_=sr_2"><em>Fahrenheit 451</em></a>, a firefighter burns books. This is his duty - because the "government" cannot allow books as they may foster an independent-minded populace.</p><p>Whenever this movie comes on, I download one of the thousands of free books that are instantly available to me via Kindle.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>8. Inception</h2><p>Infiltrating someone's unconscious mind. Stealing another's dreams. Controlling what others do by getting inside their head, all Bene Gesserit like? <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Inception</em></a> may be cool, and it's certainly frustrating. But we are nowhere close to accomplishing what the film suggests. We can't even cure Alzheimer's.&nbsp;</p><p></p><p></p><h2>9. Logan's Run</h2><p>In <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074812/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Logan's Run</em></a>, life is perfect. And then you die. At the ripe old age of 30.</p><p>It may not be fair to include this film on the list. After all, it's set 250 years from now. Who knows what will happen in that time? However, given the fact that humanity continues to live longer, spends billions of dollars on extending life, and brilliant scientists such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil">Ray Kurzweil</a> are actively pursuing a sort-of human-technological immortality through the&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity">singularity</a>, I am going to go out on a limb and predict that <em>Logan's Run</em> will always be wrong.</p><p></p><p></p><h2>10. Frankenstein</h2><p>We can now keep people alive by putting inside them the organs of a dead person(s) - or an animal. Does that make the recipient a monster?&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2"><em>Frankenstein</em></a> warned what could happen when we attempt to bring the dead to life, or create a life from the dead. Whether or not we figure out how to do that - it isn't going to play out like <em>Frankenstein</em>.</p><p></p><p>Those are my choices, and I'll stand behind every one. But these 10 misfires are far from the only movies that completely whiffed on predicting the future. What films would you add to the list? Leave your comments below.</p>All too often, sci-fi movies get the future all wrong. And some of our most cherished favorites are some of the worst offenders.http://readwrite.com/2013/05/10/10-great-sci-fi-films-that-got-the-future-all-wrong
http://readwrite.com/2013/05/10/10-great-sci-fi-films-that-got-the-future-all-wrongPlayFri, 10 May 2013 06:00:00 -0700Brian S HallRiffTrax: Michael J. Nelson & The MST3K Crew Riff On Hollywood<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2825cf0016d19" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,w_620/MTIyMzAzNDczNjg4NTQzODQ2.png" /></figure></div><p>Mystery Science Theater 3000 - affectionately known as <a href="http://www.mst3k.com">MST3K</a> to its legion of fans - is a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mst3k">cult television comedy series</a>" that mocked forgotten science fiction films from 1988-1999. Its heart still beats, as three long-time writers and stars for the show - Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy - continue to serve up hilarious "riffs" on B-movies online at their site&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rifftrax.com">RiffTrax</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Now the trio want to take on Hollywood - with your help - and mock big-budget blockbusters, such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Twilight</em></a> and <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">The Hunger Games</a></em>, in front of a live audience. They also want to help everyone create their own riffs on movies and TV shows.</p><h2>Movie Rights Are Not Cheap</h2><p>The tagline for RiffTrax is: "We don't make movies, we make fun of them."&nbsp;But Hollywood doesn't want its movies made fun of, so the RiffTrax crew can currently do their thing only for films that are either in the public domain or whose rights come very cheap. (Owners of really bad movies, not surprisingly, let their works go for very little.)</p><p>For flicks like&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316037/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Birdemic</em></a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076271/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Kingdom of the Spiders&nbsp;</em></a>(William Shatner's finest performance of 1977), RiffTrax customers download a single file (available in numerous formats), typically for $10, and watch on an iPad or laptop, or burn it onto a DVD.&nbsp;But that won't work for popular films, like&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Thor</em></a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>The Avengers</em></a>,&nbsp;or the Patrick Swayze classic, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098206/">Roadhouse</a>, whose licensing costs are too high.</p><p></p><p>For blockbusters, the RiffTrax group records its audio commentary in MP3 format. Users download the file, typically for a $4 fee, then play the MP3 on a laptop or iPod, for example, while watching the movie on a television screen. It's certainly not an elegant solution, so the crew is trying raise enough cash to license more high-profile films.</p><p>A&nbsp;highly successful <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rifftrax/rifftrax-wants-to-riff-twilight-live-in-theaters-n?ref=live">Kickstarter</a> campaign seeking to secure the rights to broadcast <em>Twilight</em> - just so it can be made fun of - netted $265,000 against an original goal of $55,000. The hope, according to Bill Corbett, is that by "backing up the money truck" to Hollywood,&nbsp;RiffTrax&nbsp;can secure the rights to the movies that need mocking most.</p><p>Once a deal is signed - it's currently in negotiations - the trio plan to riff the film live and&nbsp;stream the performance (also live) to "hundreds" of other theaters. They also hope to offer a copy of the performance as a DVD or download - film and riff embedded together.</p><h2>The Riffmasters</h2><p> To get the inside scoop, I spoke with "riffmaster" Michael J. Nelson:</p><div tml-image="ci01b2825d80018266"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNDc2MzcyODkyOTUz.jpg" /></figure></div><p><strong>ReadWrite: Describe&nbsp;RiffTrax&nbsp;to the uninitiated.</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>: It's like sitting down to watch a movie with your funniest friends.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>Why are there no puppets like on MST3K?&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;RiffTrax&nbsp;is a different animal. We don't own the copyright to the MST3K puppets. Plus, it just wouldn't work for synching commentary tracks to the popular movies."&nbsp;</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>Why start the Kickstarter campaign with <em>Twilight</em>?</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;<em>Twilight</em>'s been our single most popular [downloadable] riff to date. We want to do a live riff of the film and stream that to hundreds of other theaters.</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>What's the process for choosing a movie to riff?</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;It's hard to make fun of a film that's trying to be funny but fails. It has to be either unintentionally bad or taking itself too seriously. When I first watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316037/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4"><em>Birdemic</em></a>, for example, I assumed the director had to be joking. He wasn't - that makes all the difference.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>Do fans help you decide which movies to riff on?</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;Definitely. On Twitter and Facebook, or the user forum on our site. We have a backlog so can't always get to their choice right away, but we listen. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>Tell me about iRiffs.</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;iRiffs is the section on our site where anyone can upload their movie commentaries. We have minimal requirements - as long as the content isn't deeply offensive, you can offer your riff through the site.</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>And you split the revenues with the individual?</strong></p><p><strong>MN</strong>: Correct. I would like to say that anyone who uploads their riff to our site, please use a halfway decent USB microphone. Too many poor mics have killed some otherwise great performances.</p><p><strong>ReadWrite</strong>:&nbsp;<strong>There were several other people involved in writing and performing for Mystery Science Theater. Why only you, Kevin and Bill for&nbsp;</strong>RiffTrax<strong>?</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Nelson</strong>:&nbsp;Kevin, Bill and I were the last in-theater performers when MST3K ended. We all lived near one another in Minnesota, and were doing a lot of projects together. We fell into an easy rapport, so when I started&nbsp;RiffTrax&nbsp;in 2006 it was easy to bring those two onboard.&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Hodgson">Joel [Hodgson - the original host]</a>&nbsp;wanted to get&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cinematictitanic.com">Cinematic Titanic</a>&nbsp;up and running so it never worked out for everyone to be together." [Cinematic Titanic includes several MST3K performers who similarly offer film riff performances of B movies. The group has said that this will be its final year working together.]&nbsp;</p><p></p><p>Finally, I asked riffmaster&nbsp;Bill Corbett if the crew had any plans to make it's own&nbsp;deliberately bad movie:</p><blockquote></blockquote><p>None. I think it would be surprisingly hard to recreate the magic of an unintentionally bad movie. It would wind up too self-conscious. We've seen a lot of attempts to do that, and they never capture the exquisite fun and weirdness of someone trying in earnest to make a serious movie, and just making a mess of it.</p><p><em>Lead image from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZLcIpbOHIU">Mystery Science Theater 3000 Presents Laserblast</a>.</em></p><p><em>Picture of the&nbsp;RiffTrax&nbsp;team, from left to right: Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Michael J. Nelson.</em></p>Some of the crew behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 have created RiffTrax to come up with new options for hilarious movie commentary. Riffmaster Michael J. Nelson explains why they're trying to raise big bucks to license the latest Hollywood blockbusters.http://readwrite.com/2013/05/03/mst3k-crew-riffs-on-hollywood-rifftrax
http://readwrite.com/2013/05/03/mst3k-crew-riffs-on-hollywood-rifftraxPlayFri, 03 May 2013 14:43:00 -0700Brian S HallGeek Movies: The Top 10 Most Inspirational Films For Techies<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2824c80016d19" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a5.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzNDAyMjg0Nzc4MDg2.jpg" /></figure></div><p>What is a geek, anyway? Someone who loves math and science and computers? Sure, but that's only part of it. As counter-terrorism expert <a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/80961/january-17-2007/richard-clarke">Richard Clark once told Stephen Colbert</a>&nbsp;(around the 3:40 mark): "Geeks get it done."&nbsp;</p><p>That nails it.&nbsp;</p><p>Geeks Get It Done - GGID. Geeks imagine, then build. Geeks envision, then destroy. Geeks remake the old world and create new worlds. Sometimes just for fun, sometimes because the fate of all humanity hangs in the balance.</p><p>That's why geeks get inspired by movies that remind them to revel in their obsessiveness - because it ultimately leads to the way you "get it done."&nbsp;</p><p>Which movies do the best job of providing that awesome inspiration? You can't go wrong with these 10 classics:&nbsp;</p><h2>1. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/?ref_=sr_1">The Matrix</a></h2><p>You are your code.</p><p><em>The Matrix</em> is so good that the hot, leather-clad love interest who snaps necks and knows how to handle a semi-automatic doesn't even make it into the top 5 best things about this movie.&nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>2. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/?ref_=sr_1">Star Wars</a></h2><p>You already know. There's nothing more to add. &nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>3. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/?ref_=sr_3">Iron Man</a></h2><p>Wealthy industrialist, playboy, inventor, badass. It's like if Bill Gates were as cool as he is rich.&nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>4. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/?ref_=sr_2">Tron</a></h2><p>More than 30 years ago, Disney put a hacker inside a computer. Mad props.&nbsp;</p><p></p><h2>5. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090305/?ref_=sr_1">Weird Science</a></h2><p>Two high school boys "feed" their computer with as much real-world data as they could obtain during the Reagan era. The result: their idea of the perfect woman.</p><p></p><h2>6. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Minority Report</a></h2><p>The "PreCrime" police force uses "precogs" to stop murderers before they kill. What's that? Why, yes, it is based on a <a href="http://www.philipkdick.com/">Philip K. Dick</a> story.</p><p></p><h2>7. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Akira</a></h2><p>Katsuhiro Otomo. Neo-Tokyo. Biker gangs. Psions. Enjoy.</p><p></p><h2>8. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/?ref_=sr_2">Star Trek</a></h2><p>This Star Trek reboot took us back to the future - to the early days of James T. Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise.&nbsp;Think of just how awesome it will be if the new Star Wars films are as successful as this Star Trek reboot.&nbsp;</p><p>"I dare you to do better."</p><p></p><h2>9. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/?ref_=sr_1">Galaxy Quest</a></h2><p>The obsessive Star Trek-fanboy parody done right. When it comes on television, you can't not watch it. Why? Because it inspires you to never stop believing.</p><p></p><h2>10. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">The Goonies</a></h2><p>For a generation of geeks and would-be geeks, The Goonies inspired their sense of adventure. It's message was clear: never stop being a pirate.</p><p></p><p><em></em></p><p>Do you agree with our list? Are there any you think don't belong in the top 10? What geek classics did we leave out? Have at it in the comments.</p><p><em>Lead image courtesy of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-842284p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">s_bukley</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.</a></em></p>The 10 best, most inspirational "geek" films of all time.http://readwrite.com/2013/04/25/10-films-that-inspire-geeks
http://readwrite.com/2013/04/25/10-films-that-inspire-geeksPlayThu, 25 Apr 2013 05:05:00 -0700Brian S HallThe Next Steven Spielberg Uses A Smartphone<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2824b70018266" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large"><figure><img src="http://a3.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzMzk5MzMxOTE3MDgx.jpg" /></figure></div><p>The <em>next</em> Hollywood blockbuster may not be made using a smartphone, but that day is soon coming. This year's Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125608/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Searching for Sugarman</em></a>, was shot mostly on traditional, costly 8mm film. The director shot some final scenes, however, with his <a href="http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/searching-for-sugar-man-iphone-filmmaking-15130998">iPhone and the $2 app 8mm Vintage Camera</a>. Increasingly, high-quality films - shorts, especially - are being made entirely with nothing more than a smartphone.</p><p>Today's high-end smartphones pack a virtual film studio in your pocket. The <a href="http://conversations.nokia.com/2013/02/18/lights-mobile-action-the-amazing-evolution-of-smartphone-film-making/">Nokia Lumia 920</a>, for example, includes a 1080p full-HD video camera, zoom light, image stabilization and multiple white balance modes to help ensure that perfect shot. &nbsp;</p><p>Specs aren't enough to convince you?</p><p>Blackberry has teamed up with famed <em>Sin City</em> director, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001675/?ref_=sr_1">Robert Rodriguez</a>, to create a short film using the new&nbsp;<a href="http://keepmoving.blackberry.com/desktop/en/us/home.html">Blackberry Z10</a>. Former Cannes film festival winner, Park Chan-wook, used a smartphone to film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1817229/"><em>Paranmanjan</em></a> - it won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival.&nbsp;</p><p>Not only are smarpthone-shot films making it into film festivals, smartphone-only film festivals are cropping up around the world, such as the <a href="https://mobilfilmfestival.com/#sthash.FDHaKF5T.dpbs">Mobil Film Festival</a> in San Diego, the <a href="http://www.festivalpocketfilms.fr">Pocket Film Festival</a> in Paris and the <a href="http://www.ollehfilmfestival.com/new2/eng/main.jsp">Olleh International Smartphone Film Festival</a> in Korea.</p><p>Each of these festivals showcase the device's potential for creating stirring films while enabling those with the talent, no matter where they may be located, to unleash their creative potential.</p><h2>Personal Filmmaking on a Global Scale</h2><p>Despite their limitations, smartphones do offer some unique advantages over traditional filmmaking. Smartphone films can be made on a very low budget - which likely encourages risk-taking that traditional filmmaking shuns. Smartphones can film almost anywhere - and they are with us nearly everywhere. The portable nature of the device allows for more intimate moments and increases opportunities for filmmaking with a more personal viewpoint. Smartphones allow those who traditionally are rarely portrayed in films, such as those in impoverished areas around the world, to now be seen. With a smartphone and YouTube, immediate global distribution is possible.</p><p>For example, at the third annual <a href="http://www.ollehfilmfestival.com/new2/eng/main.jsp">Olleh smartphone film festival</a>&nbsp;in Korea, smartphone-made films from around the world were submitted. Last weekend, twenty-five films were <a href="http://www.ollehfilmfestival.com/new2/eng/06_final/vote.jsp">screened by the jury</a> for public viewing. All&nbsp;are now available on YouTube.&nbsp;Winners included:</p><p><em>[Note: Some videos below contain foul language]</em></p><p><strong><em>24 Months Later </em></strong>(Grand Prize and Audience favorite)</p><p>Great, even if the whole zombie thing has gotten a bit overplayed.</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Tell Me About Yourself</strong></em> (Best Actor award)</p><p>Short, funny and probably not safe for sharing with your boss.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Board Maker</em></strong> (Special Youth Award winner)</p><p>I confess, I did not get this.</p><p></p><h2>The Opportunity is Everywhere</h2><p>There is a growing movement - and market - for smartphone films.&nbsp;There are numerous&nbsp;<a href="http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/filmmaking-apps-under-10-dollars/">apps</a>&nbsp;to help the budding smartphone filmmaker improve their story outline, streamline the editing process and even maximize time spent shooting in sunlight. There is also a growing market for accessories. These include everything from optional lenses, to an&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thesmalls.com/7-must-haves-iphone-filmmakers">iPhone "dolly"</a>&nbsp;and smartphone "steadicam."</p><p>Need funding for your film? Over $128 million has been pledged on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats">Kickstarter</a>&nbsp;for film and video projects. It's quite possible that very soon many if not most crowdfunded films will be shot entirely with a smartphone.</p><p>Still hesitant?</p><p>The Guardian asked&nbsp;<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/blackberry-keep-moving/how-to-make-great-films-on-your-smartphone">director Matt Carroll</a>&nbsp;for tips. His advice includes methods to improve sound and post-film editing, and guidance on the all-important topic of lighting:</p><blockquote></blockquote><p>The (smartphone) camera doesn't see subtle light gradations like we do, so it's best to avoid areas of high contrast. For example, if it's a sunny day and you're filming someone under an awning, the chances are they'll come out too dark or the background will be bleached out ('burnt'). &nbsp;</p><p>Need more help?&nbsp;</p><p>In France,&nbsp;<a href="http://conversations.nokia.com/2013/02/18/lights-mobile-action-the-amazing-evolution-of-smartphone-film-making/">Pocket Film Festival</a>&nbsp;founder Benoît Labourdette conducts workshops to help smartphone filmmakers. His primary advice is to use your phone’s natural advantage - its size and portability - to get shots that are inaccessible to traditional cameras.</p><p>Far removed from Hollywood?</p><p>The <a href="http://worldfilmcollective.com">World Film Collective</a> teaches youth in impoverished areas - from Africa and South America, to inner cities in the UK - to make films using only a smartphone.&nbsp;</p><p>The result?</p><p>Smartphones are rapidly becoming the tools people across the planet are using to tell their stories and show them to the world.</p><p><em>Lead image courtesy of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>.</em></p>Today's high-end smartphones, such as the iPhone 5 or Nokia Lumia 920, do not simply offer acceptable video recording capabilities, they are a virtual film studio in your pocket.http://readwrite.com/2013/04/23/the-next-steven-spielberg-uses-a-smartphone
http://readwrite.com/2013/04/23/the-next-steven-spielberg-uses-a-smartphoneMobileTue, 23 Apr 2013 07:30:00 -0700Brian S HallShould I Unfollow Roger Ebert?<!-- tml-version="2" --><div tml-image="ci01b2823500048266" tml-render-position="center" tml-render-size="large" tml-render-layout="inline" tml-image-caption=""><figure><img src="http://a2.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAzMzAyNjk1MTUyOTIx.jpg" /><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div><p>I know Roger Ebert like most of you. I know him from his many film review shows, from his numerous and well-written movie reviews syndicated in hundreds of newspapers, and his many appearances on late-night talk shows. It was through Twitter, however, where I felt most close to him.</p><p>Now that Ebert has died, should I unfollow him? Should you? Is there a protocol for this?</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ebertchicago">Roger Ebert wrote over 30,000 tweets and had over 800,000 followers</a>.&nbsp;I was one of them. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm also not sure if Twitter knows what to do in this situation.</p><p>True, one of its press representatives did respond to my queries with a link that explains how relatives or estate representatives can request <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/87894-contacting-twitter-about-a-deceased-user">deactivation — i.e., deletion — of an account following its owner's death</a>. Twitter will not, however, grant anyone access to the account of someone who's passed away.</p><p>Still, what becomes of Ebert's tweets now that he's dead? What of the fact that at least one person, <a href="https://twitter.com/jeeemerson">Jim Emerson</a>, editor of Ebert's blog site, has access to the account — and has tweeted on it twice since Ebert's death? (Albeit <a href="https://twitter.com/ebertchicago/status/320282365387747329">apparently at Ebert's request</a>.) Should Ebert's wife, or Emerson, or anyone else keep tweeting on Ebert's "verified" account? Wouldn't that be weird?&nbsp;</p><h2>A Powerful Voice On Twitter</h2><p>Ebert's tweets touched on movies, obviously, but also politics, the environment, music, gun control, climate change and much more. He came to Twitter reluctantly before happily embracing the new medium. In a 2010 column for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert wrote:</p><blockquote><p><a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/06/tweet_tweet_tweet.html">I vowed I would never become a Twit. </a>Now I have Tweeted nearly 10,000 Tweets. I said Twitter represented the end of civilization. It now represents a part of the civilization I live in. I said it was impossible to think of great writing in terms of 140 characters. I have been humbled by a mother of three in New Delhi. I said I feared I would become addicted. I was correct.</p></blockquote><p>He quickly became one of the more popular, respected voices on Twitter. In the same essay, Ebert also provided his thoughts on how to tweet effectively:</p><blockquote><p>My rules for Twittering are few: I tweet in basic English. I avoid abbreviations and ChatSpell. I go for complete sentences. I try to make my links worth a click. I am not above snark, no matter what I may have written in the past. I tweet my interests, including science and politics, as well as the movies. I try to keep links to stuff on my own site down to around 5 or 10%. I try to think twice before posting.</p></blockquote><p>He also shared his views on what Twitter meant to him:</p><blockquote><p>When you think about it, Twitter is something like a casual conversation among friends over dinner: Jokes, gossip, idle chatter, despair, philosophy, snark, outrage, news bulletins, mourning the dead, passing the time, remembering favorite lines, revealing yourself.</p></blockquote><p>Ebert revealed himself in life, on Twitter. Will those tweets soon go away?&nbsp;Given Ebert's popularity on Twitter and his general celebrity, will Twitter see fit to honor him somehow?</p><p>I have long been a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/business/media/roger-eberts-legacy-as-a-relentless-empire-builder.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">fan of Ebert's work</a>.&nbsp;I loved <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090523/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1"><em>Siskel &amp; Ebert</em></a>, even when he and Gene Siskel were reviewing awful movies. I know Ebert wrote the screenplay for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065466/?ref_=sr_1"><em>Beyond the Valley of the Dolls</em></a>, which I've watched. I know he wrote many books, launched a popular movie festival and had a highly trafficked&nbsp;<a href="http://rogerebert.com">blogsite</a>. I know he worked with Microsoft on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Cinemania">Cinemania</a>, an interactive movie guide on CD-ROMs.</p><p>Nonetheless, I believe I know him best, know him most fully — as a person — from Twitter. Now that he's dead, it seems not merely unseemly to unfollow him. More... unnecessarily sad.</p><h2>Bury Me With My Tweet On</h2><p>In 2009, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1932803,00.html">Facebook announced a "memorialize" feature</a>, in large part so that users would not be auto-reminded to "reconnect" with a person on Facebook that had since died.</p><blockquote><p>We understand how difficult it can be for people to be reminded of those who are no longer with them, which is why it's important when someone passes away that their friends or family contact Facebook to request that a profile be memorialized.</p></blockquote><p><strong>(See also:&nbsp;<a href="http://readwrite.com/2012/12/11/why-are-dead-people-liking-stuff-on-facebook">Why Are Dead People Liking Stuff On Facebook?</a>)</strong></p><p>To verify the person's death, Facebook requires friends or family to complete a form that contains a link to the person's obituary or other information confirming the death.&nbsp;Twitter doesn't offer anything similar, although as noted above, the service&nbsp;does allow relatives or estate representatives to request that <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/87894-contacting-twitter-about-a-deceased-user">accounts of the deceased be deleted</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Perhaps it shouldn't. Perhaps the account should remain available, though in a state of suspended digital animation. If Twitter is a conversation, as Ebert himself suggested, even the person's death can't make past conversations disappear.</p><p>Though this still does not answer the question, which may be unanswerable, of whether or not I should unfollow someone that is now dead. Particularly when that someone mattered to me, even if solely via digital channels.</p><p>Ebert never hid the fact that late in life, salivary cancer stripped him of his vocal chords, his jaw and his voice, and that he had to rely on a computer to speak and write. Here is his TED talk, "<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/roger_ebert_remaking_my_voice.html">Remaking My Voice</a>," from April 2011.</p><p>Roger Ebert never replied to any of my tweets to him, nor ever favorited a tweet of mine. Now he never will. There could come a time when I decide to cull through my Twitter followers and delete Ebert's account. I am glad, however, that Twitter was there to bring Ebert closer to me.</p><p>I hope Twitter honors him in some appropriate manner. I also hope that Ebert's many 140-character tweets continue to live &nbsp;forever.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Image of Roger Ebert and wife courtesy of <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a><br tml-linebreak="true" /></em></p>Should you? Just what is the protocol when a celebrity tweeter dies?http://readwrite.com/2013/04/08/should-i-unfollow-roger-ebert
http://readwrite.com/2013/04/08/should-i-unfollow-roger-ebertSocialMon, 08 Apr 2013 10:03:00 -0700Brian S Hall